The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) is an independent research center at the University of Washington. Its mission is to monitor global health conditions and health systems, as well as to evaluate interventions, initiatives, and reforms. IHME carries out a range of projects within different research areas including: the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors; Future Health Scenarios; Costs and Cost Effectiveness; Local Burden of Disease; Resource Tracking; and Impact Evaluations. The aim is to provide policymakers, donors, and researchers with the highest-quality quantitative evidence base to make decisions that achieve better health.
IHME has an excellent opportunity for a Researcher to join the Injuries and Clinical Informatics (ICI) research team. The ICI team is responsible for modeling and producing estimates on the burden of injuries in the GBD study and provides critical inputs derived from clinical data for various diseases and injuries of interest. Datasets utilized include Truven Marketscan, CMS Medicare and Medicaid claims, and other inpatient, outpatient, and claims datasets from around the world. Using these data, the team also conducts bespoke analyses for other IHME projects, including custom analytics that support GBD research and other core areas of IHME research. Methods used include various classes of statistical modeling, machine learning classification, text mining, and data analytics that track patient care in different facilities over time. The team leads the work on select grant and contract-based projects, such as the Burden of Influenza and Respiratory Syncytial Virus Disease (BIRD) grant.
Researchers on the team are responsible for implementing various analytical components of these projects, which will include scientific literature review, methodological planning, overseeing data queries and analysis, and producing results that are used for reports, presentations, and publications. You will be integrally involved in producing, critiquing, improving, and disseminating results. You already have a command of epidemiology, statistics, disease modeling, or related interests and we will help you develop an understanding of our core research and methodology. Our researchers work with senior research leads and external collaborators and take part in the intellectual exchange about how to improve upon the results and disseminate the results. You are expected to interact successfully with a wide range of partners and to describe complex concepts and materials concisely. Overall, Researchers are critical members of agile, dynamic research teams. This position is contingent on project funding availability.
Responsibilities
- Develop a core understanding of assigned research area methodology and its components.
- Under the guidance of experienced scientist and/or faculty, carry out quantitative analyses and statistical modeling to produce results designated on a given timeline as part of collaborative research projects.
- Extract data from various sources and databases. Format, transform, review and assess data sources to determine their relevance and utility for ongoing analysis. Understand key data sources and variations in these across and within countries.
- Review, assess, and improve results and methods.
- Apply computational and statistical tools and algorithms for the preprocessing, analysis, and visualization of source data.
- Document code and analytic approaches systematically so that analyses can be replicated by other team members.
- Lead discussion in research meetings about results and analyses to vet, improve, and finalize results.
- Contribute to creation of presentations, manuscripts, and funding proposals. Co-author paper(s).
- Maintain scientific awareness and intellectual agility with data, methods, and analytic techniques.
- Other duties as assigned that fall within reasonable scope of research team.
Requirements:
Master’s degree in public health, epidemiology, statistics, biostatistics, math, economics, quantitative social sciences or related discipline plus 1 year related experience or equivalent combination of education and experience.
Additional Requirements:
- Proven interest and some experience in a given disease, risk, key indicator, methodological area, and the related data sources and scientific underpinnings.
- Strong analytic, critical thinking, and quantitative skills
- Ability to professionally and effectively communicate and work with other staff at all levels in order to achieve team goals for the analyses and related outputs.
- Results and detail-oriented individual that can initiate and complete tasks under tight deadlines and changing priorities both independently and in a team environment. Flexibility with hours and workload is key.
- Working ability with at least one statistical programming language (e.g. R, Python, Stata, SAS, SQL).
- Excellent communication skills, both oral and written
- Ability to work both independently and in collaboration with a team
- A long-term interest in a research scientist position contributing to the overall mission of our research
Desired
- Track record of success in co-authorship on scientific papers, presenting results, and representing research at meetings.
- Knowledge of machine learning, data mining, and analytic techniques.
Conditions of Employment: Weekend and evening work sometimes required.